2017RECAP

THEIRSTORIES

T R A N S F O R M I N G L I V E S T H R O U G H A F F O R D A B L E H O U S I N G

A C A R E G I V E R L E A R N S T O T A K E C A R E O F H E R S E L FAfter a string of unfortunate financial hardships and having to care for il l parents, struggling single mother, Maria, found herself unable to afford her current living situation. She resorted to living in her car, or staying in hotels when she could afford it, but she knew that she needed to do better, for her daughter’s sake.

After receiving multiple rejections for apartment rentals owing to a bad credit history, she was at her wit’s end. Paying her bills became increasingly difficult and with no light on the horizon, Maria fi led for bankruptcy.

Maria reached out to GSH and enrolled in the ABC program. Since then, with the help of her case manager, she has been able to improve her credit score, implement and maintain a realistic budget, and is able to pay her rent in full and on time.

Maria is also working closely with BritePaths, another financial mentoring program, and is actively pursuing her goal of becoming a homeowner in just a little over a year!

G E T T I N G B A C K O N H I S F E E T - L I T E R A L L YWith a full time construction job, and a part time job in community services, Jason is a busy man. He not only works to make ends meet, but he also chooses to work a second job where he helps others who are facing difficulties.

A few months ago, Jason was injured in an accident for which he was not at fault. The extent of his injuries required him to spend months in rehab learning how to walk again. Despite being on medical leave, his employer let him go.

With hours of lost wages and no job, he was staring eviction straight in the face. We were able, through our Emergency Services program, to partner with other agencies to help him pay his back rent.

“I am very blessed to know there are other people like me who want to help give back to the community like I do,” wrote Jason. GSH is happy to report that he is now (literally!) back on his feet with a new job in one of the local school systems.

“ G S H h e l p s t o a d v a n c e p e o p l e a n d n o t

j u s t g i v e t h e m a h a n d o u t . Yo u a l l a r e

a l o t m o r e t h a n j u s t h o u s i n g .”

A P R E S C R I P T I O N F O R S U C C E S SGSH’s Children’s Resources program was able to assist the daughter of one of our residents with expenses toward her academic studies.

Having lost work hours following a bout of pneumonia, the mother didn’t have the money for her daughter’s test preparation course and for the costs of the exam itself.

The daughter passed her qualifying examination as a pharmacy technician in Virginia, and was also selected for a competitive job internship at a local pharmacy.

The mother communicated her heartfelt thanks by tell ing us, “GSH helps to advance people and not give just give them a handout. You all are a lot more than just housing.”

T U R N I N G S P E N D I N G H A B I T S I N T O S A V I N G H A B I T SThis year, GSH was invited to join the Women in Housing and Finance Foundation (WHFF) in a new partnership focused on financial education for our residents.

The 6-week long Changepurse program, is a tailored financial mentoring program where participants met with trained volunteers for one hour each week for six weeks to discuss attitudes about money and money management skills. The program is aimed at changing the “spend it now” mentality that we see all too often, and to replace bad spending habits with constructive financial behaviors and mindsets that that lead to more secure financial futures.

As part of the program, participants were encouraged to save between $25 and $500 over the eight weeks, and thanks to a grant from The UPS Foundation, GSH was be able to match each participant’s savings during the program, up to $250!

We received much positive feedback from our participants. One client said, “I’m enjoying the course and what I am learning is beneficial to me,” while another told us, “I l ike that I can meet other women in the program, and now I know I’m not alone, not the only one struggling.”

“ I l i k e t h a t I c a n m e e t o t h e r w o m e n i n

t h e p r o g r a m , a n d n o w I k n o w I ’m n o t

a l o n e , n o t t h e o n l y o n e s t r u g g l i n g .”

Good Shepherd Housing

8305 Richmond Highway #17B

Alexandria, Virginia 22309

Tel: 703-768-9404

Fax: 703-768-9419

Email: info@goodhousing.org

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Tw i t t e r : @ G o o d H o u s i n g O r gI n s t a g r a m : @ G o o d S h e p h e r d H o u s i n g

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